mitchell reports", a new poll shows washington and president hit new lows, setbacks there governme spying to fallout from government shutdown and health care debacle has been so damaging not only has the president's political approval taken a hit but now personal likability readings are below 50 for the first time. secretary sebelius promised to get the crippled federal health care exchange on track. >> hold me accountable for the debacle. i'm responsible. >> so there's no excuse for it. i take full responsibility for making sure it gets fixed asap. we are working overtime to improve it every day. >> rollout plagued with questions about breaches of personal privacy and why the president repeatedly promised people they would not have to give up current plans when millions of people with individual bare bones coverage actually will. and the bright spot is boston's

strongest. >> this ball is off the monster. one run scores. >> red sox with their third world series in a decade and most importantly their first at fenway in 95 years. now the town that endured so much since the marathon bombing in april has plenty to celebrate. >> it hasn't happened at fenway park for 95 years. the red sox are world champions. >> boston strong! boston strong! boston strong! good day.

i'm andrea mitchell in washington. the president's messaging on health care coupled with a faulty website had the white house on defense and the nation very skeptical about how this government can tackle big issues going forward. massachusetts governor duvall patrick joins us, home of the red sox. >> that's right. >> tem plate for the president's health care law. more on that in a moment but first, congratulations. >> thank you, andrea, we're excited. a little sleepy, too. >> quite a night of celebration for a lot of people. we stayed up to watch it but we weren't in the streets. how does it feel in boston and how important was this series victory to restoring hope and a sense of confidence and resilience as mike barnicle was saying this morning. >> the first game of the season, if i remembered right, was at the very end of that terrible week after the marathon bombing. to have the team have such an incredible season, such a

turnaround from last season. to sum nature this way is affirming. really exciting. a parade in the next day or two. you'll see that boston strong spirit out and visible and strong when that comes. >> now, i want to get to the subject, the president's visit. you were with the president yesterday. >> yes. >> how frustrated is he about this? how much responsibility did he personally take for launching this major political initiative, legacy initiative and not having foggup at the white house or cabinet level to make sure it was pretested and ready to go? >> i think he's very frustrated. in fact, there was a lot of checking in as the process was rolled out. i'm quite serious, they will get fixed. meanwhile people can sign up for new coverage by paper, the old-fashioned way over the phone

and so forth. i think it's important to remember as the president pointed out yesterday, the affordable care act is not a website, it's a value staple. it's a program about enabling people to have real security around their medical and health needs. that is worth committing to and worth getting this website right and i think it will get right. >> there's an issue of personal trust here as well of the president said repeatedly, if you like your health care plan, keep your health care plan. he didn't explain 14 million people, some of which with bare bones, don't match up, will lose their plans. others whose plans are too minor, don't cover enough to meet the basic standards are going to have premium increases. some will be subsidized, some will not. there's a lot of asterisk there. it's that gap, credibility gap, if you will, that is hurting the president now. >> there's a small number of people whose plans today are so

empty they don't provide insurance when they need it. one of the several things the affordable care act does is to assure people who have insurance don't have insurance yanked away when they get seriously ill. if you have that kind of policy right now, it's no longer any good thanks to the affordable care act. what that means is families and individuals have a health security they didn't have before. that's a requirement of law. it will be true for a small number of the total. something like less than 5% of americans will have to move away from those inadequate policies in favor of other alternatives that their own insurance company or other insurance companies may offer. >> how do you feel about the decline in the president's poll, the democrats are concerned. this the first time his

likability rating is down below 50. that's a significant fact. >> andrea, i still like him. i'm a relative newcomer to this world. i've only run for one office and done it two times. my polls have been up and down. polls don't vote. they don't really count, i think, it seems to me when you're trying to get something done, particularly when you're trying to get something done that's hard. what the real measure is is whether you make a difference in the lives of people. i can tell you health care reform in massachusetts, which as you know is the model for the national reform has made such a difference in people's lives. we had an opportunity to call out those examples among some of the folks who were in the crowd. the president is going to have those opportunities and did offer one or two examples in his remarks all across the country. so our experience here where our own website was problematic when we first launched seven years ago, where we've been learning as we've gone. we've refined and improved the

program as we've gone is widely popular and supported here because people have kept their eyes on the prize. that same broad coalition that helped in vent health care in massachusetts stuck together to improve it and fix it as we've gone along. we need that same kind of coalition and same kind of eyes on the prize out of all the players in washington, including congress. >> thank you very much. again, governor, congratulations. the socks did it. born a yankees fan, hard to say this but congratulations. just saying, it was great. >> thank you, andrea, appreciate it. >> we all were celebrating for you and with you last night. >> thank you. >> big programming note on "meet the press" sunday david gregory will have exclusive interview with former massachusetts governor mitt romney. that's sunday, of course, check your local listings. joining me chris cillizza, host of tv's "in play" and mark

murray will deeper dive into that nbc news "wall street journal" poll. mark, you've looked through all these numbers. you are the poll maven here at nbc, you and chuck. what do you think to the white house is most alarming. >> the president's numbers as you just pointed out. of course people's disgust with washington isn't something new, present the last four or five years. what's been notable how president obama has been able to float above that. his numbers have been higher than everyone else's. this poll is the first time we see the weight of all the stories that have been over the past month and a half. the government shutdown, the website's rollout on health care law, allegations of nsa spying have taken a weight on him and put his approval numbers at an all-time low. also as you just mentioned favorable, unfavorable first time, upside down in his presidency, in fact, the time we've been testing him in the poll. >> chris slice arcillizza, appr

number down to 42%, bottoming into george bush territory, which was as low as 37 at this point in his presidency midterm. what are the implications for midterm. >> i'm working on this piece. a lot of democrats say who cares what his approval ratings are. he never has to be elected again. that's true. if you go back and look at the history of second term midterms of a president, they almost always bad for his party. there is a reason for that. the only way people dissatisfied with the direction of the country, the president, the only way they can cast a protest vote is to do so against his party as opposed to against him. i think his numbers do matter. i think you've highlighted the critical piece of it, which is president obama always this people like him even if they didn't approve of his policies. the like him numbers are fading, which is really important to

note. >> when we talk about those midterms, chris and mark, we're talking about congressional ratings that are really bottoming out. for the first time in a long time, people don't like their own congress member. they used to say throw those other bums out but i like my own guy, my own woman. now lets give somebody else a chance, 63%, that's a big number. >> look at presidential approval rating, look at the battle grounds. this poll result, 63% want a new member of congress, all-time high in the survey dating back to 1992 shows that maybe this midterms environment might not be normal midterm environment at all and every member of coping, democrat, republican needs to watch out because running on anti-washington platform could be a big winner no matter who the incumbent is, no matter who the challenger is. >> if you add up the numbers, there are more republicans holding seats right now. so technically that could be

more troublesome for republicans. chris. >> i would add, andrea, i think we always focus on the general election because that's what we're talking about, the battle for control and the majority. but mark has got it exactly right. i would say if you're an incumbent, saichl safely democratic or republican seat, if you're an incumbent and someone marginally credible files against you, you need to pay much more attention if these poll numbers are to be believed and i think they are because we've seen lots of data like this. you need to pay more attention. being in washington is already essentially grounds for firing at this point in the eyes of many voters. i think yes the general election, many primaries, a busy primary season if this environment, which is toxic, holds. >> the other thing presidential power, polls affect votes, 56-42, opposed for federal housing agency right under shawn

donovan who we interviewed yesterday about this very thing, he lost his confirmation. so it was the same vote, a procedural vote. again basically filibuster situation where they need 60 votes to do anything. they aren't getting judge ships, district judge ships, mark. this is diminishing the president's clout when he can't frighten -- have enough political weight to frighten everybody to try top peel off republican votes. >> this is something where we've often seen filibusters, we've seen nominations blocked but this is getting into rare territory here. you just look at the public's frustration with washington. they are angry at the president, angry at members of congress, the whole institution. the parties often succeed are the ones that respond to voters on how are you helping me solve my problems. the fact we are still litigating

health care law over the last four years and having problems with that rollout, we're fighting over a government shutdown and the aftermath of that, a lot of americans are saying washington isn't solving my problems right now and that creates a very angry electorate. >> mark murray, you're the best. thank you very much. and chris cillizza, thanks so much. it's halloween, my favorite holiday. unfortunately it's trick for many treaters this year because of weather. weather is putting a damper on the festivities today in large portions of the country. a massive storm system expected to bring high winds and dump buckets of rain. sounds like it's already dumping from texas to the northeast today. several cities in indiana, kentucky and ohio have already postponed trick or treating until friday. in new jersey, by the way, two years in a row with big storms, now trick or treating. the "today" show was able to fit in fan favorite extravaganza on the plaza. they did not disappoint. calling on classic television

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i cannot imagine you can sit here with a straight face and feel good about what we've done. i hope at some point the administration will sit down and develop a strategy not only for syria but the region. it appears to me after multiple, multiple trips, this administration acts on an ad hoc basis, looks for opportunities to slip the noose as they most

recently did in syria and i hope you'll help them develop a longer term strategy. >> senators on both sides of the aisle were expressing concern and angry about unclear serious strategy grilling him at the foreign relations committee today and based largely on "washington post" columnist david ignatius column. look what you did, set off, outlining how the administration is scaling saddleback its options. susan rice, the national security adviser reordered priorities on foreign policy and this is all part of that. explain what you think it happening and how it's perceived overseas. >> the administration is stating a new approach to the region in which they are being pretty explicit about u.s. difficulty

in determining the outcome of what they view the civil war in syria, rather than try to pretend they can shape it decisively. pulling back from that. described the approach generally as one of strategic humility recognizing there are limits to american power as we certainly saw it in the iraq war and afghanistan. i think what's bothering the people, the situation in syria is so violent, the loss of life so great, it's going to get worse this winter. we're going to have tens of thousands of people suffering in the cold and dying i fear. it's understandable that members of congress are upset. i haven't heard anybody, including the angry senators, propose a strategy that's much more coherent than what the administration is putting out. >> you were the first to report on how angry the saudis are,

angry about the president's decision not to strike after the chemical attack, the ambivalence displayed over labor day weekend, really angry about the failure to arm, as promised. what was the practical impact. should we care they are turning their backs on the administration. >> i think we should care because saudis are traditional allies and part of the structure of regional alliances but the united states needs to care less going forward than it has in the past because our reliance on saudi oil is less than it has been as we discover new shale oil and gas. what the white house would say in the presence of the u.n. speech outlining the strategy, he was clear our strategic core interests for which we go to war include free flow of oil to the

persian gulf. there's no lessening of that commitment. similarly strategy on terror networks, saudi arabia. similarly focuses on maintaining allies and alliances, which include saudi arabia. there's less change that meets the eye. what hasn't been done. i think this is where they do deserve to be faulted is the communication of that strategy privacy leaders are not surprised or blind-sided. zo much surprise of friends and allies in the last few months and not enough quiet consultation and warning. >> what about surprise to cabinet members? one of the things about the strategic review that is clear, it's a white house review, not interagency. secretary of state is only consulted after the fact not during. let me ask briefly about the nsa

story breaking, based on edward snowden leaks, foreign to foreign intelligence, nsa and british allies, british intelligence services are scooping up metadata, not specific content of e-mails and telephone calls unless they see a legitimate foreign target but scooping all this stuff, storing it for years and years in storage facilities i'm told around the world. how does this revelation affect our foreign policy? >> very damaging. the snowden revelations are becoming the most important security setbacks in the united states, not in terms of ability to collect information about terrorist threats, that's the least in terms of alienating allies. i found the story in the "washington post" disturbing for the following reason. we learned in 2011 the foreign intelligence corps, legal mechanism of oversight told nsa

the activities collecting some data were illegal and needed to be changed. nsa saide yes, we will change those domestically. if the post story is accurate, at the same time they were changing domestic procedures, they were in effect going around them by collecting similar data overseas. you don't say i'm closing front door and go in the back door. this one that people -- even people sympathetic to the broad mission of counter-terrorism and intelligence collection, they should be bothered by this report. >> just briefly i've been told by officials the intent was not to go in the back door, they believe under executive order in the '80s they have every right to do this from foreign to foreign intelligence. they do sweep of americans in the mix if they have foreign

telephones. >> andrea, you're absolutely right. every intelligence agencies exists to break the laws of foreign countries. if you were going to do it legally, you'd do it with the state department. the problem is if you're using that broad authority to in effect get around limits that would be placed on domestic activities by other statutes, that is where -- >> david ignatius, you've been up front with all these stories saudis and rece and now stirring up foreign relations committee. >> thanks a lot, andrea. >> you've got a lot of clout here. thank you. get ready for major changes coming to your air travel. turning off cell phones tore takeoff and landing will soon be a thing of the past. faa announced new relaxed guidelines today. as long as phones, tablets and e readers stay on airport mode and are not communicating passengers will use them throughout the flight. many airlines expected to adopt

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help the gulf when we made recover and learn the gulf, bp from what happened so we could be a better, safer energy company. i can tell you - safety is at the heart of everything we do. we've added cutting-edge technology, like a new deepwater well cap and a state-of-the-art monitoring center, where experts watch over all drilling activity twenty-four-seven. and we're sharing what we've learned, so we can all produce energy more safely. our commitment has never been stronger. today senate homeland committee took a look at tragic naval yard shooting and security clearances. bipartisan group of senators working on a solution that strengthens that system.

claire mccaskill has been one of the lawmakers leading the fray. floor, you have the first hearing ongoing and you've been pushing on this company, spinoff from the government that does most of the security clearances. there was a government inspection report that said 50% they do were fraudulent and they were cutting corners and not doing all the checks. have you found anything to mitigate your concerns? >> none. i found nothing to mitigate the concern. in fact, just the opposite. every rock i pull up, something ugly runs out from it. not only were we doing these pro forma, not only were contractors cutting cornser to make more money and meet deadlines unrealistic, now we know protocols underlying these were flawed. there wasn't even a requirement on the navy yard shooter for them to go and find the police

report on the arrest that showed up in the background check. clearly for people with mental problems, you're not going to find that just in an arrest report. you're going to have to look at the police report and understand that the issue at hand is a mental disturbance, not just someone who has violated some small level crime. >> what more do we know now about the person responsible for the horrible navy yard shootings and his clearance? >> we know that he had demonstrated irrational aggressive behavior by shooting out the tires of someone's car. we know that there was a police report that indicated he was hearing voices and was hallucinating about things that were going on to him in a hotel room nearby. my legislation not only will allow more audit of the process

of background checks, more themselves so people will be more likely to report when they have access to information. >> more going on? >> one, a lawsuit filed that was made public just days ago that lays out damaging information about it. he also did snowden's check. an ongoing investigation could lead to more criminal charges. there have been a number of criminal charges brought against some of the employees. looking hour systemic was this fraud in terms of the way they are doing background checks. >> i want to also ask you about an investigation you pursued following an investigation on staged arrival ceremonies from remains from asia and hawaii

where we reported military was staging ceremonies towing airplanes up who brought them back and weren't remains being identified. so families were misled. >> these were ginned up photo ops. nothing was arriving. this was a pr effort that was not forthcoming. we had previously done hearings about the problems of p.o.w. identification. we are spending hundreds of millions of dollars trying to identify remains and it's a dysfunctional mess. besides that, there are many families we know are not going to recover the remains of their loved one. we need to be honest with them about that. holding out false hope remains are recovered is not the way to

honor. whether remains cleaned up at arlington orb around this p.o.w. mia, how we treat those that serve us reflects on the carbohydrate of our country and we deserve -- they deserve we get it right. >> senator, i want to ask you about the vote that was taken. not only was million watt blocked but judge mallet has been blocked by basically a filibuster, clochuture vote. she's extremely qualified, the most important short of the supreme court, d.c. circuit. what is your reaction to that? >> really disappointing. two ways to shut down the government. one denying funding. the other is by blocking appointments to serve in the government for false political reasons. this isn't about the workload of the d.c. court, this is about the republican party wanting to

deny the president appointments to the court because it handles major complex litigation that comes out of government. they don't want any of obama's appointees on the court. they are ginning up reasons to block this. i'm embarrassed. this woman has argued dozens of cases in front of the united states supreme court, a military spouse, tremendous character and competence. i hurt for her and what this reflects on our country that she was blocked in such a partisan political way. >> senator, thank you very much. before we let you go, we celebrated the red sox. i wanted to say the cards were great. sorry your st. louis team came in second. they were at least in the series. >> i congratulate the red sox. it was a great series. it's our 19th one in st. louis. our payroll is a fraction of boston's payroll and cardinal nation is proud of our team. i can say this with confidence

being from st. louis. we'll be back next year. >> indeed. you've got the best uniforms anyway. >> there you go. >> thank you. thank you very much. >> thank you. >> senator, good to see you. just moments ago georgia's u.s. attorney announced they will open a federal investigation into the death of whom student kendrick johnson. the 17-year-old was found dead at his school last january. police say it was a freak accident. johnson suffocated in a gym mat going head first inside for a shoe. surveillance video shows a few short glimpses in his final minutes. his parents believe their son may have been murdered and are fighting to reopen the investigation. >> i'm of the opinion a sufficient basis exists for my office to conduct a view of the facts vunding the dea-- surroune death of kendrick johnson.

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welcome back. joining me from london former ambassador bahrain adam early, in iraq, other posts for the state department. adam, thank you very much. thanks for being with us. there's, of course, visit of prime minister maliki in washington and a lot of anger at the iraquis and continuing violence, increasing violence in iraq. what should the administration do? >> i think that anger is fully justified. the united states needs to hold maliki to account. he has given lots of promised and fulfilled very few of them. particularly his regime is not inclusive, it is not democratic. he finds himself in a tight spot now because he alienated previous supporters, particularly in the sunni

community. as a result we see growing violence against his regime. the level of deaths is more than double this year than it was last year and higher than at any time since 2000. in may 1,000 people killed in iraq. real questions maliki has to answer. can we count on you? will you philadelphia the commitments you made to us unlike you have in the past? >> he'll be meeting with the president. the president is about to speak. it's one of those moments we may get interrupted. let me quickly squu about the nsa spying controversy. we've confirmed "washington post," u.s. and brits are collecting vast trophies of metadata overseas, vast amounts of information, storing them, going back in when they deem it necessary. how has that hurt us overseas?

>> i think it's important to separate the public rhetoric from private discussions. lets be clear, espionage takes place in the shadows. i'm not so sure these articles and these revelations shed as much light on that shadowy world we might assume reading the papers. what i found interesting was when the director of the national intelligence and nsa testified in congress. they made a very compelling case much of what you read is just not accurate. the reason it's difficult to cover this is because there isn't full disclosure. until there is, it's hard to have a really educated discussion about it. >> i apologize, we're going to have to interrupt because the president is speaking right now. you know the drill. adam ereli. the president is at the justice department. >> when we do business together and trade and have partnerships it's good for all of us.

i want more american production being sold in your countries. i want your companies investing more here in the united states of america, because it advances my top priority as president, creating good paying american jobs and strengthening the middle class. there's nothing more important right now. i'm here because i want your company to know. i want companies around the world to know that i believe there's no better place in the world to do business than the united states of america. think about it. globalization and technology means you can go just about anywhere. but there are a whole lot of reasons you ought to come here. we're not just the world's largest market, we're growing thanks to the grit and resilient of americans people we cleared away rubble from financial crisis.

over the past three and a half years our businesses have created more than 7.5 million new jobs thanks to the tough decisions we made to tackle our long-term challenges america is becoming more competitive from a business standpoint. we're reforming a broken health care system. as a consequence health care costs are rising at their slowest rate in 50 years. we've cut our deficits by more than half since i took office and that he keep going down. we've pursued an all of the above energy strategy and we're producing more traditional, renewable than ever before, more natural gas than anyone in the world and we've cut carbon pollution in the process. so while the case for doing business in america has always been strong, we've made it stronger. of course you will find no better workers than american workers. our productivity is rising.

we have the world's best universities. its most innovative entrepreneurs. we have its strongest intellectual property protections to go along with a rule of law that matches up with anyone. and thanks in part to a new initiative focused on exports and the new trade agreements that i've signed, we sell more products made in america to the rest of the world than ever before. so as you've heard repeatedly today and you will hear undoubtedly after i leave this stage, america is open for business. and businesses have responded. after a decade in which many jobs left the united states to go overseas, now we're seeing companies start to bring jobs back because they are seeing the advantages of being located here. caterpillar bringing jobs back from japan. ford is bringing jobs back from

mexico. after locating plants in other countries like china, it's opening its most advanced plant right here in the united states. the whole range of factors involved. people are looking at lower energy costs here. p they are looking at stability, increased profitability of workers. all things adding up. people are saying why would we want to be outside the world market when we can get our products made effectively here and this is a great platform from which we can export all around the world. not just companies based in the united states. honda is betting on america by expanding in ohio, alabama, and indiana. today more hondas are made in america than any place else in the world. samsung is betting on america by revamping their plant in austin,

texas, a $4 billion investment. siemens betting on america by hiring hundreds of new workers in north carolina and putting $50 million a year in training its u.s. workforce. that's the kind of investment we've always welcomed as a nation but the reason for select usa is we know we can do more. we know we can be better. two years ago i acted on a recommendation from the ceos on my jobs council and we created select usa to encourage more foreign companies to invest and create jobs right here in the united states. we've shown that this works. as penny mentioned earlier this morning with help from select usa, the austrian company is creating 220 jobs in an auto parts plant in cartersville,

georgia. canadian company bombardier is investing $600 million to expand its learjet facility in wichita, kansas. a belgian company that makes high-tech aircraft parts reopened a shuttered factory in stillwater, oklahoma, and they are expected to create 350 new jobs by 2015 and the list goes on. i want to see even more success stories across this country, which means we do everything we can if companies like yours want to set up shop here in the united states. for all the u.s. states and cities represented here today, we want to provide you with the tools you need to close those deals and create those jobs. so that's why today i'm proud to announce i'm expanding and enhancing select usa, to create first ever fully coordinated u.s. government effort to

recruit businesses to invest and create jobs in the united states. to do that, i'm taking four new steps to bring jobs to our shores. first building on the great work our diplomats in embassies do every day i'm making attracting foreign investment a formal part for ambassadors and teams around the world. i meet with dedicated embassy staffs wherever i go. all of them are great ambassadors for america and they are building bridges and connections every day. i want them doing even more to help foreign companies cross those bridges and come here. as they take on this expanded economic mission overseas, we'll make sure they have got the support they need here at home, which brings me to the second point. officials at the highest levels, up to and including me, are

going to do even more to make the case for investing in america. i already do this everywhere i go around the world, in public and private, i joke with a few american companies that i will deserve at least a gold watch at the end of my tenure for good . but as a country, we don't always make our case in a coordinated way that links our teams overseas to the right senior officials in washington. and we're going to change that, make our advocacy more efficient, more effective, more connected so businesses making decisions about where to invest are getting timely answers and know they're going to have all the help that they need. number three, we'll make sure that for the first time companies who want to do business in america have a single point of contact at the federal level to cut through red tape. so we're going to help you navigate national, state, local

rules and regulations so you can invest faster, open facilities faster, create jobs faster. and finally, we'll help states, city, regions across america up their game by giving them more tools they need to compete. from the latest research and analysis to events that link them directly with potential investors. this is a big country. and for a lot of foreign investors, you know, it may be sometimes hard to navigate and figure out what exactly is going to fit the needs of your company. well, we can help you do that. we can help make sure state and local governments and regional offices, they're best equipped to make their case and we can get a good fit that's good for the company and good for those communities. so the new focus at our embassies on attracting investment, more outreach from

washington, coordinated advocacy to bring more jobs here, new ways to cut through red tape and new tools for state and local leaders. that's what an expanded, select usa will mean for businesses and partners in u.s. states and cities. and ultimately, i believe, that will translate into more good middle-class jobs for america. my number one priority. i will be asking congress to do its part. a lot of this is coordination. it's not necessary to spend a lot of money. it's important for us to do what we do more wisely. but making america even more attractive to investment should be something that everybody can agree on, democrats and republicans. we got to work together to get that done. at the macro level, that means getting beyond gridlock and some of the manufactured crises we've seen come out of washington. because i assume if you ask any

ceo here, if shutting down the government makes them more confident about wanting to bring jobs to america, the answer will probably be no. the notion of not paying our bills on time doesn't inspire confidence. so it's time for congress to focus on what the american people are focused on and what i'm focused on, which is creating good jobs that pay good wages and creating a good environment for investment. we do need to fully fund the select usa program so more middle-class folks have a chance to earn a decent living. we need to make sure that we are resourcing the efforts to make sure that our workers can earn the skills that they need to compete in the global economy. we've got, you know, one of the crown jewels of our education system is our community college system. not everybody's going to be training at m.i.t. or stanford, but these community colleges means we can partner with

businesses, help defray some of the trading costs, help design with businesses what exactly they're going to need in terms of people getting hired. and we got the resources to do it. we know how to do it. but we've got to make sure congress is supportive of that. we've got to fix a broken immigration system so that we are welcoming more talented workers and entrepreneurs from around the world. so if companies are coming here to locate and they've got a key individual that they need to bring over to make sure that the company's doing what it needs to do, that it's not a tangle of red tape. and the good news is we know we've got bipartisan support for immigration reform. we just make sure we have to get it done this year. we've got to continue to make smart investments in research and development, education, infrastructure, all the things that historically have made america the most attractive place on the planet for businesses to invest. we've got to build on that success.

that's who we are as a country. we have a tradition here of tackling new challenges, adapting to new circumstances, seizing new opportunities. that's one of the reasons that history shows over the last two centuries that when you bet on america, that bet pays off. so to all the business leaders here today and around the world, we want to be your partner in helping to write the next chapter in our history. we want you to join the generations of immigrants and entrepreneurs and foreign investors who have discovered exactly what it means when we say we are the land of opportunity. that is not a myth. it's a proven fact. there are a lot of wonderful countries out there, but this is a place where you can do business, create great products,

deliver great services, make money, and do good at the same time. so you should find out why there's no substitute for those proud words, made in america. here's three more words. select the usa. when you do, you'll find some of the world's best workers, some of the world's most innovative entrepreneurs. you'll find a government and a president who's committed to helping you create more good jobs for the middle class and helping you succeed well into the 21st century. we are open for business. and we're looking forward to partnering with all of you in the months and years ahead. thank you very much. [ applause ]

>> ladies and gentlemen, at this time -- >> again, we're listening to president obama delivering remarks at the select usa investment summit, discussing foreign investment and investments in the united states. you're hearing the president say there that obviously in his belief it is always best to bet on the united states and its economy and its workers. we'll have much more on the president, including a new nbc "wall street journal" poll, new information on what many of you think of the job he's doing right now and how it compares to some pretty rough feedback for the republican party in this new poll. before we get to politics, we have some breaking news to report. the news nation is following in the past hour a federal prosecutor announced he will open a formal investigation into the mysterious death of kendrick johnson. kendrick johnson is the georgia teenager whose body was found rolled up in a gym mat at

school. >> my objective is to discover the truth, and i believe that can only be done by gathering all of the evidence and relevant information surrounding mr. johnson's death. i'm committed to doing everything in my power to answer the questions that exist in this case or as many of them as we can. >> so this comes one day after a portion of surveillance video -- this is what you're looking at right now. this video was released. it was taken inside the boy's high school the day he died. the video shows the teenager, if you look closely there, walking into the gym and on to the basketball court where other students are playing. however, this tape, this surveillance tape does not show his death or what happened leading up to it. johnson was found dead january 11th, and the local sheriffs office has said all along that this incident was an accident.

an autopsy conducted by the georgia bureau of investigation ruled that he suffocated inside the mat after he fell into this mat, they say, head first while reaching for his shoe. now, the young man's parents never believed this was the case and had a separate autopsy done, which concluded he died from a blow to the neck. nbc's gabe gutierrez is in macon, georgia. he joins us. we're going to talk to the parents of kendrick johnson as well as their attorneys shortly. let's get to the details of this video. first, we are seeing an edited portion. his parents will see more video, as i understand it, in the coming days. this is an edited portion of what police have released. >> reporter: yeah, that's right, tamron. the family is still asking for much more from the school. the dozens of surveillance cameras in the school. they say there's about 1900 hours of that surveillance video over that two-day period when kendrick johnson went missing back in